National Parks and Reserves Tour, Central and South Israel, 12 days

The National Parks and Reserves Tour for Central and South Israel, 12 days, is part of the ecotourism and Eco-tours. This tour is meant for the normal public from the ago of 15 and older. It also means climbing, dragging your feet through the mud, becoming wet, walk under the burning sun, becoming dirty, etc. You’re warned!

Depending on your choice of accommodations, the price of the tour might be cheap or very expensive.

It’s possible to mix the accommodations; for example day 1-4 in 5 star hotel, day 5-10 in 3 star hotel, day 11 in hostel

Recommended photo gear:

DSLR with interchangeable lenses

Wide angle lens

Tripod

Flash

Remote control (optional)

Small camera bag and/or dust cover (if you enter the hide-out caves at Hurvat Midras you are going to need some gear protection, as this is going to be extremely dusty)

Note: This tour is also recommended to non-photographers.

What to wear: Hiking boots/shoes or good walking shoes, long comfortable trousers that can take a rub as well as dirt and dust. You are likely to get dirty.

Important items:

Sun hat or cap

Sunscreen or sunblock with sufficient UV protection

Water (2-3 liters) (the guide takes care for water in the bus in case that)

Day 1 – Arrival

Airplane to Israel

This is the day that you arrive in Israel. Well, it’s not the case for those who are already here or who are living in Israel.

For those who are arriving in Israel, will be picked up from the airport by the guide and driver from Shalom Israel.

For those, who ordered the hotels, they will be driven by bus to their hotel and for this tour it means Eilat.

During the drive to your hotel, the bus will stop multiple times if the group requires so. One stop is for stretching your legs and to eat real food and drink. That is included in the tour! So, please don’t spend your money on that.

When you’ve arrived at your hotel, you check in and relax. The guide is with you and stays with you until you go back home at the end of the tour. He is available day and night (for example when you can’t sleep!).

Day 2 – Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

The Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve is a 3,000-acre (12 km2) breeding and re-acclimation center administered by the Israel Nature Reserves & National Parks Authority, situated in the Southern Arabah near Yotvata.
The Yotvata Hai-Bar is the desert counterpart of the Carmel Hai-Bar Nature Reserve which operates in the country’s Northern Mediterranean forest.
Endangered and locally extinct animals mentioned in the Bible are bred here for possible reintroduction to the Negev desert. The Asian wild ass has already been reintroduced in the Makhtesh Ramon into the wild. In addition the park has some rare desert animals, which are not native to Israel, like the scimitar oryx and the Red-necked ostrich from northern Africa.

At the end of the day, we drive to our new hotel in Be’er Sheva/Sde Boker.

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Ein Avdat or Ein Ovdat is a canyon in the Negev Desert of Israel, south of Kibbutz Sde Boker. Archaeological evidence shows that Ein Avdat was inhabited by Nabateans and Catholic monks. Numerous springs at the southern opening of the canyon empty into deep pools in series of waterfalls. The water emerges from the rock layers with salt-loving plants like Poplar trees and Atriplexes growing nearby.

Springs
The southernmost spring is Ein Ma’arif, featuring a series of waterfalls and pools. A Byzantine fortress overlooks the spring and adjacent agricultural land. Further north is Ein Avdat, a 15-meter high waterfall that flows into an 8-meter deep pool of water divided by a small artificial dam.
Located near the northern entrance of the park is a spring called Ein Mor, named for the spice myrrh.
Growing around the springs are Poplar trees and Atriplexes, commonly known as saltbush, which grows on riverbanks and can tolerate salinity.

At the end of the day, we return to our hotel in Be’er Sheva/Sde Boker

Day 4 – Shivta National Park

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Shivta, is an ancient city in the Negev Desert of Israel located 43 kilometers southwest of Beersheba. Shivta was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2005.

History
Long considered a classic Nabataean town on the ancient spice route, archaeologists are now considering the possibility that Shivta was a Byzantine agricultural colony and a way station for pilgrims en route to the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula.
Roman ruins from the first century BCE have been unearthed in the southern part of the town, but most of the archaeological findings date to the Byzantine period. Shivta’s water supply was based on surface runoff collected in large reservoirs.

Three Byzantine churches (a main church and two smaller churches), 2 wine-presses, residential areas and administrative buildings have been excavated at Shivta. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century CE, the population dwindled. It was finally abandoned in the 8th or 9th Century CE.
In 1933-34, American archaeologist H. Colt (son of the gun manufacturer) conducted a dig at Shivta. The house he lived in bears an inscription in ancient Greek that reads: “With good luck. Colt built (this house) with his own money.”
The wine presses at Shivta give an insight into the scale of wine production at the time. According to the calculations of archaeologists, the Nabatean/Byzantine village of Shivta produced about two million liters of wine. Adjacent to the site is a large farm that uses Nabatean agricultural techniques of irrigation, sowing and reaping.

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Ein Gedi nature reserve was declared in 1971 and is one of the most important reserves in Israel. The park is situated on the eastern border of the Judean Desert, on the Dead Sea coast, and covers an area of 14000 dunams (one modern dunam equals the area of one decare).
The elevation of the land ranges from the level of the Dead Sea at 423 meters (1,388 ft) below sea level to the plateau of the Judean Desert at 200 meters above sea level. Ein Gedi nature reserve includes two spring-fed streams with flowing water year-round: Nahal David and Nahal Arugot. Two other springs, the Shulamit and Ein Gedi springs, also flow in the reserve. Together, the springs generate approximately three million cubic meters of water per year. Much of the water is used for agriculture or is bottled for consumption.
The reserve is a sanctuary for many types of plant, bird and animal species. The vegetation includes plants and trees from the tropical, desert, Mediterranean, and steppian regions, such as Sodom apple, acacia, jujube, and poplar. The many species of resident birds are supplemented by over 200 additional species during the migration periods in the spring and fall. Mammal species include the Nubian ibex and the rock hyrax.
The Ein Gedi national park features several archaeological sites including the Chalcolithic Temple of Ein Gedi and a first-century CE village. The park was declared in 2002 and covers an area of 8 dunams.

Day 6 – Ein Prat Nature Reserve

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Wadi Qelt is home to a unique variety of flora and fauna. St. George’s Monastery and one of the oldest synagogue in the world, Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue, are located in Wadi Qelt, which has been identified with the biblical “Perath” mentioned in Jeremiah 13:5.

Ancient history
Wadi Qelt contains monasteries and old Christian locations. Several aqueducts have been found along the stream, the oldest dating to the Hasmonean period (2nd century BC). The Wadi Qelt Synagogue, built as part of a Hasmonean royal winter palace, is believed to be one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The site was home to the winter palaces of Hasmonean kings and Herod the Great. The area was occupied by Israel in 1967, and hence parts of the wadi were declared a nature reserve, the Nahal Prat Nature Reserve.
Qubur Bani Isra’in are huge stone structures which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt

Modern times
On December 20, 1968, Israeli lieutenant-Colonel Zvi Ofer (Tzvika Ofer), commander of the elite Haruv unit, former Military Governor of Nablus and recipient of the Israeli medal of valour, was killed in action in Wadi Qelt while pursuing Arab militants who had crossed the Jordan.
Wadi Qelt was the site of several [Palestinian political attacks] on Israeli hikers following the 1993 Declaration of Principles peace agreement between Israel and the PLO. Dror Forer and Eran Bachar were shot to death on October 9, 1993, Ori Shahor and Ohad Bachrach were shot and killed on July 18, 1995, and Hagit Zavitzky and Liat Kastiel were stabbed and killed on April 25, 1997.

Day 7 – Ein Tzukim Nature Reserve

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Ein Feshkha is a nature reserve and archaeological site on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about three kilometers south of Qumran in the West Bank, which is occupied by Israel. It is named for a spring of brackish water in the area. The Ein Feshkha nature reserve consists of an open reserve with pools of mineral water for bathing surrounded by high foliage and another section that is closed to visitors to protect the native flora and fauna.
The saline wetlands of Einot Tzukim are the only known place in the world where populations of Blue and Dead Sea killifish (Nevit Hula and Nevit Yam Hamelakh) live side by side. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture are constructing pools in the area to preserve these native fish. Two of the pools are complete and are now populated by tens of thousands of fish. Measures are also being taken to preserve the tilapia population.
Enot Tsukim is divided into three sections: the northern “closed reserve,” the central “visitors reserve,” and the southern “hidden reserve.” The closed reserve is only open to scientists by special invitation. This section covers approximately 2,700 dunams. The 500-dunam visitors reserve features wading pools filled with natural spring water.
Due to ecological concerns, the hidden reserve is closed to the public apart from tours on Fridays.

Day 8 – Qumran National Park

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel’s Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalya. The Hellenistic period settlement was constructed during the reign of John Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE or somewhat later, and was occupied most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE or shortly after. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden), caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace. The principal excavations at Qumran were conducted by Roland de Vaux in the 1950s, though several later campaigns at the site have been carried out.

Day 9 – Masada National Park

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish-Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there. Masada is located 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Arad.
Masada is one of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions.

At the end of the day we go to our new hotel in Jerusalem

Day 10 – Avshalom (Stalactites) Cave

Avshalom (Stalactites) Cave

Avshalom (Stalactites) Cave

Avshalom (aka Sorek) cave was discovered accidentally by regular mine explosion at sixties. Today this relatively small but very beautiful cave is national park.

Avshalom Cave, also known as Soreq Cave or Stalactites Cave, is a 5,000 sq m cave in Israel, unique for its dense concentration of stalactites.

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

The cave was discovered accidentally in May 1968, while quarrying with explosives, near Hartuv, 3 km east of Bet Shemesh, Israel. It is 83 m long, 60 m wide, and 15 m high.
The cave is named after Avshalom Shoham, an Israeli soldier killed in the War of Attrition. After its discovery, the location of the cave was kept a secret for several years for fear of damage to its natural treasures.
The temperature and the humidity in the cave are constant year round, and it is now open to visitors, in the heart of the 67-dunam Avshalom Nature Reserve, declared in 1975. In 2012, a new lighting system was installed to prevent the formation and growth of algae.
Some of the stalactites found in the cave are four meters long, and some have been dated as 300,000 years old. Some meet stalagmites to form stone pillars.

Day 11 – Beit Guvrin National Park

Early morning we all have breakfast at your hotel. We need to prepare for the day, which starts officially at 9:00 in the morning. That means that we must leave with the bus at 8:15 at most.

Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is a national park in central Israel, 13 kilometers from Kiryat Gat, encompassing the ruins of Maresha, one of the important towns of Judah during the time of the First Temple, and Beit Guvrin, an important town in the Roman era, when it was known as Eleutheropolis.
Archaeological artifacts unearthed at the site include a large Jewish cemetery, a Roman-Byzantine amphitheater, a Byzantine church, public baths, mosaics and burial caves.

Burial caves
The Sidonian burial caves were the family tomb of Apollophanes, the leader of the Sidonian community in Beit Guvrin. The Sidonian caves are the only ones that are painted inside. The caves were burial caves for the Greek, Sidonian and Edumite inhabitants of Beit Guvrin. The first and largest cave has paintings of animals, real and mythic, above the niches where the corpses were laid. A cock crows to scare away demons;the three-headed dog Cerberus guards the entrance to the underworld; a bright red phoenix symbolizes the life after death. The Tomb of the Musicians is decorated with a painting showing a man playing the flute and a woman playing the harp.

Bell caves
There are about 800 bell-shaped caves located in the area. Many of the caves are linked via an underground network of passageways that connect groups of 40-50 caves. The bell caves were dug during the Arabian Period for chalk to cover roads. The walls are beige colored limestone. There are numerous bell caves within the park grounds and events are held in one of them. It is large (over 60 feet (18 m) high), airy and easily accessible.

The Church of Saint Anne
Saint Anne’s church was first built in the Byzantine period and then rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century. The ruin is known in Arabic as Khirbet (lit. “ruin”) Sandahanna, the mound of Maresha being called Tell Sandahanna. The freestanding remains of the apse are well preserved

Amphitheater
The remains of a Roman amphitheater were uncovered in the mid-1990s. The amphitheater was built in the 2nd century, on the northwestern outskirts of Beit Guvrin. This amphitheater, in which gladiatorial contests took place, could seat about 3,500 spectators. It had a walled arena of packed earth, with subterranean galleries. The arena was surrounded by a series of connected barrel vaults, which formed a long, circular corridor and supported the stone seats above it; staircases led from the outside and from the circular corridor to the tribunes It was built for the Roman troops stationed in the region after the suppression of the Bar Kochba rebellion. The amphitheater is an elliptical structure built of large rectangular limestone ashlars. It was in use until destroyed in the Galilee earthquake of 363.

At the end of the day we return to our hotel in Jerusalem.

Day 12 – Departure

We will bring you back to the airport after breakfast (this depends on your departing time).

Categories

Encyclopedia for the Tourist in Israel: Tourists in Israel

For those who are visiting Eilat (or are going to do that) without plan (like most of you do), here are some tips for you to make your life a bit easier if you want to see something of Eilat. It’s the problem of getting there and how to move around and with what. Did you know that you can fly to Eilat instead of driving for 4 hours by car? Do you know how much that cost? It cost you $35 and 35 minutes. Voila, you earned your reading back with this.

Eilat’s accommodation ranges from the good to the bad to the downright ugly – this is not a place to expect a charming or unique hotel experience. As is the case with most resort towns, the cost of hotel rooms rises by about 25% at weekends and 50% (or more) during Israeli school holidays and in July/August. Reserve ahead during these times. The prices we have cited in our reviews are at the higher end of the mid-season range. If you enjoy staying in five-star chain hotels, you’ll be spoiled for choice. There are more than 50 options around the lagoons at North Beach and along the road to Taba, including nine Isrotels, two Dan Hotels and seven hotels in the Leonardo/Herod group. Most have bland decor, restaurants where the fixed-price buffet reigns supreme, large pool areas and decent but not exceptional levels of service.

Beaches and water sport are the dominating swimming activities in Eilat and in this article you will see what you can do here and what beaches we are talking about. In Eilat, there are two types of beach/water-tourists; those who love to swim in the Red Sea and those who prefer the water pools of their hotel.

Tel Aviv has loads of restaurants in all kinds, representing all areas of the Arab world, as is the rest of the world. And you know what, you can always find something for any budget. You can choose a boutique type restaurant, or you can choose a restaurant, where you have a full meal for a few shekels. And then there are those restaurants, which are based on the rising crop of ‘chef restaurants’ and an ever-growing number of swanky brasseries.

There are accommodation choices to meet every budget and style requirement in Tel Aviv, but the city’s ever-expanding range of boutique hotels includes the most alluring options. The best location for visitors is the wedge of the south city centre bounded by Rothschild Blvd, Sheinkin St and Allenby St, which is richly endowed with cafes and restaurants. It’s also within walking distance of most sights. Further away, Jaffa offers some stylish boutique options and a vibrant Arab-influenced street life.

It’s not quite as old as nearby Jaffa – history here stretches back ‘only’ 1300 years – but Ramla’s bustling market, underground pools and crumbling Islamic architecture make it an interesting half-day trip from Tel Aviv. Try to visit on a Wednesday, when the market is at its busiest and most colorful. Established in 716 CE by the Umayyid caliph Suleiman, Ramla (spot of sand) was a stopover on the road from Egypt to Damascus. Prior to the arrival of the Crusaders in the 11th century, it was Palestine’s capital and it maintained its importance in the Middle Ages as the first stop for the Jerusalem-bound pilgrims who came ashore at Jaffa. Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the majority of the Arab population were expelled or fled and was replaced by poor Jewish immigrants, mainly from Asia (eg India) and North Africa. It’s now a friendly mix of Arabs (20%) and Jews (80%).

The self-titled ‘Israeli Riviera’ offers 12km of the finest sandy beaches in Israel & the Palestinian Territories, while the town itself exudes a rather strange, time-warp feeling, almost like an out-of season French seaside resort. It’s popular with families, who flock to the spacious promenade with its parks, flower beds and water features. As at Herzliya, the beaches are a favourite with visiting European (especially French and Russian) tourists but are far less crowded than those of Tel Aviv. In August or September, the town has the dubious distinction of hosting the annual two-day Netanya International Clown Festival.

Just 12km north of central Tel Aviv, Herzliya is popular due to its fine, clean beaches, marina mall and string of seafront cafes. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya started as a small farming community in 1924 and now consists of two main areas separated by Hwy 2. Middle-class, suburban central Herzliya, east of the highway, is mainly residential and commercial, while Herzliya Pituach (west of the highway) – a neighborhood of huge villas that’s home to some of Israel’s wealthiest residents – is where the beaches are. Herzliya Pituach is also home to Israel’s blossoming high-tech industry; as a result, modern office blocks are rising up all.

Recent Posts: Perfect Buildings Blog

The Cathedral of Guadalajara started to be constructed on the 31st of July 1568 and concluded on the 19th of February 1618, ordered by King of Spain Felipe II. Few people know it has the official title of “Basílica de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Virgen María”, because it was consecrated to her.

Aya Sofya is the great architectural landmark at the heart of Istanbul, with its four minarets poised like moon-bound rockets. Constructed in the 6th century AD as an Orthodox church, it later became a mosque and, since 1935, a museum. The enormous structure was built in just five years, and its musk walls are topped by an imposing dome, 31m wide and 56m high. The dome’s base is ringed by windows, so that from within the structure, the dome seems almost to hover ethereally above the building.

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.

Red Square remains, as it has been for centuries, the heart and soul of Russia. Few places in the world bear the weight of history to the extent that Moscow’s central square does. From the 16th Century St. Basil’s Cathedral – one of the most famous pieces of architecture in the world – to the constructivist pyramid of Lenin’s Mausoleum, Red Square is rich in symbols of Russia’s turbulent and intriguing past.

Known as the “Russian Versailles,” Peterhof is a series of palaces and courtyards full of glinting gold statues and wondrous fountains surrounded by manicured grounds. Preserved as UNESCO World Heritage Site, the initial construction of the Peterhof complex began around 1714 when Peter the Great commissioned a pleasure palace across the sea from the island fortress of Kronstadt. Especially amazing is the Grand Cascade, a series of stepped fountains surrounded by gilded statues flowing down to a remarkable grand fountain.

Finished in all its present-day lavishness in 1756, this Rococo palace functioned as the Russian monarch’s summer home until the monarchy was deposed in 1917. During World War II, the German army destroyed much of the palace’s gilded interior and left only its hollow bones. Renovations were finished in 2003 and the palace is now a great tourist destination as well a venue for elite concerts and gatherings.

Constructed in 1732 and heavily altered for the next two decades, the Winter Palace (in reality the fourth Winter Palace, as the first three iterations were not exquisite enough for Russian monarchs such as Peter the Great and Catherine I) served as the official residence of the Russian monarchy until the Revolution of 1917. The white and teal Winter Palace is one of six major historical buildings which comprise one of the most massive museums in the world, the Hermitage of St. Petersburg.

Vasily Stasov designed the Grand Choral Synagogue in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was completed in 1893 as a central worship space for the area’s growing Jewish community. One of the synagogue’s most notably opulent features is its 47 m copula. It was also possible to get married here at the lavish adjoining wedding chapel. The synagogue stands as a reflection of the prominent roles many Jewish individuals played in this period of Russia’s history. Today you can visit this house of worship, which was entirely restored in 2003. There are a variety of activities on offer and several surrounding Jewish cultural shops.

Metéora (“suspended in the air”) is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos. The six Christian monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars in central Greece. In the 14th century, Athanasios Koinovitis from Mount Athos founded the great Meteoron monastery on Broad Rock. The location was perfect for the monks; they were safe from political upheaval and had complete control of the entry to the monasteries. Access to the monasteries was deliberately difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith – the ropes were replaced only “when the Lord let them break”.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Kiev, Ukraine. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1015 the Lavra has been a preeminent center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra contains numerous architectural monuments, ranging from he Great Lavra Belltower, the notable feature of the Kiev skyline, to cathedrals to underground cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls.

Recent Posts: Perfect Buildings Blog

The Cathedral of Guadalajara started to be constructed on the 31st of July 1568 and concluded on the 19th of February 1618, ordered by King of Spain Felipe II. Few people know it has the official title of “Basílica de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Virgen María”, because it was consecrated to her.

Aya Sofya is the great architectural landmark at the heart of Istanbul, with its four minarets poised like moon-bound rockets. Constructed in the 6th century AD as an Orthodox church, it later became a mosque and, since 1935, a museum. The enormous structure was built in just five years, and its musk walls are topped by an imposing dome, 31m wide and 56m high. The dome’s base is ringed by windows, so that from within the structure, the dome seems almost to hover ethereally above the building.

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.

Red Square remains, as it has been for centuries, the heart and soul of Russia. Few places in the world bear the weight of history to the extent that Moscow’s central square does. From the 16th Century St. Basil’s Cathedral – one of the most famous pieces of architecture in the world – to the constructivist pyramid of Lenin’s Mausoleum, Red Square is rich in symbols of Russia’s turbulent and intriguing past.

Known as the “Russian Versailles,” Peterhof is a series of palaces and courtyards full of glinting gold statues and wondrous fountains surrounded by manicured grounds. Preserved as UNESCO World Heritage Site, the initial construction of the Peterhof complex began around 1714 when Peter the Great commissioned a pleasure palace across the sea from the island fortress of Kronstadt. Especially amazing is the Grand Cascade, a series of stepped fountains surrounded by gilded statues flowing down to a remarkable grand fountain.

Recent Posts: Tourists in Israel

For those who are visiting Eilat (or are going to do that) without plan (like most of you do), here are some tips for you to make your life a bit easier if you want to see something of Eilat. It’s the problem of getting there and how to move around and with what. Did you know that you can fly to Eilat instead of driving for 4 hours by car? Do you know how much that cost? It cost you $35 and 35 minutes. Voila, you earned your reading back with this.

Eilat’s accommodation ranges from the good to the bad to the downright ugly – this is not a place to expect a charming or unique hotel experience. As is the case with most resort towns, the cost of hotel rooms rises by about 25% at weekends and 50% (or more) during Israeli school holidays and in July/August. Reserve ahead during these times. The prices we have cited in our reviews are at the higher end of the mid-season range. If you enjoy staying in five-star chain hotels, you’ll be spoiled for choice. There are more than 50 options around the lagoons at North Beach and along the road to Taba, including nine Isrotels, two Dan Hotels and seven hotels in the Leonardo/Herod group. Most have bland decor, restaurants where the fixed-price buffet reigns supreme, large pool areas and decent but not exceptional levels of service.

Beaches and water sport are the dominating swimming activities in Eilat and in this article you will see what you can do here and what beaches we are talking about. In Eilat, there are two types of beach/water-tourists; those who love to swim in the Red Sea and those who prefer the water pools of their hotel.

Tel Aviv has loads of restaurants in all kinds, representing all areas of the Arab world, as is the rest of the world. And you know what, you can always find something for any budget. You can choose a boutique type restaurant, or you can choose a restaurant, where you have a full meal for a few shekels. And then there are those restaurants, which are based on the rising crop of ‘chef restaurants’ and an ever-growing number of swanky brasseries.

Recent Posts: Wim's Blog

You have a great idea and you want to earn money with it. That idea will be so great, you will become rich with that. Or what about people who think of themselves as business people with golden ideas. And all those ideas are Internet based. They think they only need a website and it will sell automatically and that’s it! And the majority fails. But what does it take to do such thing like that? This is an article about what people must consider before they can make this a reality with the help of the Internet and the steps they need to take before the actual work starts.

Blogs are popular and part of the social media. Everyone can create a blog and write there what they want. But not only blogs, also companies need websites, and organizations, institutions, governments, action groups, political parties, newspapers, and any individual wants to have a website. But all of that have something in common: they need a website. That website is stored and maintained on a server and that means that everyone needs to have a hosting account in order to host the website. And here the problems start. You are limited with maximum 17,647 page views per day.

Everyone who’s reading the mainstream media in the Internet gets the strong impression that Donald Trump is a really bad person and Hillary Clinton not. This is an understatement as ever. You don’t believe me? Do you want to see the proof with your own eyes? Go to news.google.com (aggregation of news of multiple sources) and read only the headlines about the American elections. Even when new revelations are coming in the open about criminal probes and investigations from the FBI against Hillary Clinton, there is still a very strange negativity of the news coverage of the mainstream media. And it doesn’t end with the negative coverage, no, not at all. They are using tactics to manipulate facts, vicious attacks on Trump’s character, straight out lying, cheating and much more to brush Donald Trump with the brush of tarnished evil. Ann Coulter on Breitbart wrote an interesting piece about those investigations and I could not help to expand on that.

A poll is nothing more than an attempt to predict an outcome based on what a relatively small sample of people say they are going to do. To suggest that they could be off by more than the statistical margin of error is just wishful thinking. Is that true? No. The polling industry is in the problems, because populations are simply getting sick of answering multiple times questions from pollsters. That’s why. So, does that mean that polls are or are not reliable?

The US Elections 2016 are becoming more dramatic by the hour. Each time new revelations are published about each candidate, muddling the actual elections and give preference for mudslinging, accusations, media manipulations, falsification of election data and polls, unprecedented interference of the current President, fraud, drop of confidence in the US government, unpopular politicians, conspiracies, corruption, manipulation, defect mainstream media and so much more. One Presidential candidate is under suspicion of Perjury, Obstruction of Justice, Bribery, Pay for Play,Illegal Use of a Nonprofit Organization, Racketeering and Fraud! If Hillary Clinton gets elected as the next President, those voters need to wait for a very long time before they have their president. And they take also the risk that this President will go to jail and dragging America further in the slumps and be the biggest embarrassment in the world.

Recent Posts: Shalom Israel

The dramatic story about Capenaum. How that little fishing town was once a nice town, hosting one of the most famous people in the world, then getting cursed by the same person and see the result of that now; only ruins left!

Here you see an overview about the public tours, created by Shalom Israel. There are many other tours, which are created as private tours and can’t be marketed or operated. The tours are coming in different settings. First of all, the tour itself is a VIP tour with the highest quality possible. Secondly, the tours can be customized and then can become even VIP Plus or a low-budget tour, as you wish.

This is a collection of random images about the beautiful country Israel with its variety in nature, culture, religion and its people. Its unparalleled in the world, and because of that, it’s a treasure chest for any tourist who wants to experience an unforgettable vacation for the whole family. The Shalom Tours are custom made and high quality and visit all of those places and much more.